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+--- Thread: Aging Wine (/thread-19472.html)
- wosie - 01-02-2008
Hi- I just discovered red wine and absolutely love it! I work in Napa, so I get to do a lot of tasting and I'm starting to learn quite a bit... However, I don't understand why wine should be aged? I bought a couple of bottles of Cabernet at a local winery, the wine was very good, but the flavor felt a little "weak" and light. Does aging make the flavor more robust?
- wondersofwine - 01-02-2008
Welcome to the Wine Board. We can use a source from Napa to report on wines you taste.
Does aging make the wine more robust?
Probably not.
Cabernet Sauvignon is by nature a fairly tannic wine (tannins from grape skins and seeds and stems as well as from new oak barrels.) Therefore, some of the best Napa Cabernet Sauvignon wines need ten or more years of cellaring (at proper temperatures and humidity) to integrate the tannins with the fruit for optimum drinking pleasure. If the wine tasted weak or light, it may have lacked the tannin content you are used to in other wines you've had. Perhaps that winery removes the stems to control tannins. The age of the vines may also contribute to a robust taste (concentrated grapes from an older, lower-producing vine in comparison to a younger, high-producing vine.) Winoweenie is our expert on Cabernet Sauvignon. Maybe he'll add his thoughts.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 01-02-2008).]
- winoweenie - 01-02-2008
Hi Wosie and welcome to the board. As WOW stated not all wine is meant to be aged and tho the majority of Napas' great Cabs have a long life span you need to let us know which wines you purchased. Also as outlined if you don't have the proper provenance(storage) it's a lost cause. 95% of all wine produced is designed to be drunk on release./ WW
- wosie - 01-02-2008
Hi,
Thanks for the welcome and for the responses. The two particular wines I was wondering about were actually Suisun Valley wines (Just over the hill from Napa, in Solano County). One was Vezer 2005 Special Reserve Cabernet - this was a beautiful smooth fruity wine, just not as robust as many other Cabs I've had, so I thought that aging it might give more of the tannin flavor. The other is a local (Suisun) favorite of mine, Ledgwood Creek 2005 Cabernet. Neither of them really had a strong tannin flavor (which I like).
Thanks again!
- winoweenie - 01-03-2008
Haven't had experience with either wine but can assure you that aging will not enhace the tannins in the wine. Aging resolves tannins among other things. So if these wnes are soft now it's a sure bet they were meant to be drunk soon after release. WW